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19 out of 26 people found the following review useful: An Instant Classic That Is Much More Than The Sum Of Its Parts, 23 October 2009 Author: merrilltoyco from United States
I saw this movie last night at a sneak preview in Jared Hess' home city. It totally ruled. It was full of laugh-out-loud scenes, with comedy on every level, excellent performances, and a sneaky plot that Scorsese would have been proud of. Everyone in the audience seemed to love it, lingering to cite scenes to each other long after the film was over. Even the press seemed genuinely giddy to be there.Everyone who follows comedy knows what a big hit Napoleon Dynamite was, and although Nacho Libre was extremely funny, it lacked some of the kitschy style that made Napoleon more than just a comedy. Gentlemen Broncos seems to be the calculated result of a wise decision to return to form. If Napoleon Dynamite has nerds, Gentlemen Broncos has Supernerds; if Napoleon Dynamite has touches of the 70's and 80's, Gentlemen Broncos has dropped you off and left you there.Like the best Wes Anderson films, Hess has the ability to identify and isolate a lovably weird segment of our society and walk right on that line for the duration of his films. In this case, it's the soul-drying, bad sci-fi stories that I used to see when I was a kid but don't anymore. The lone, laser-gun-wielding hero standing on a world with three moons and a tight, lit-up grid pattern for ground; the farming space station that's been overrun by cyborg apes; the space worm; etc. The kind of bad stories that couldn't even merit a hardback release, let alone a movie– and now can't even be found new. Capturing that odd energy and riffing a clear story on top of it earns Hess bonus points right off the bat.He also has a gift for making good actors great at being bad, on purpose. Mike White has never been even nearly as hilarious as he was in this film (watch out for snakes), Jennifer Coolidge was in top form (as usual), and Sam Rockwell got all the way on board with a career burning phoenix of comedy that covered the polar ends of the spectrum. And because Hess pays special attention to each character, Hector Jiminez and Halley Feiffer are given equal opportunity to steal the show, and turn hilarious performances.Now let's start a new paragraph. Shame on whoever dissed this movie before I had a chance to get here– you shall fall into the pit which you dig, because you seem to have forgotten one important detail: Jemaine Clement is in this movie. You can't give anything with Jemaine Clement in it one freakin' star. It's against the laws of physics. And when people see that you've done that, they'll only question whether you really even saw this movie at all. One of the funniest people alive, Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords) reproves his very real character-acting abilities, swanning over the film in full form as a tightly wound, bad-jeans-wearing, writer-bearded egomaniac who is so cheesy that you can smell the leather conditioner coming out of the screen. He was the obvious heir to the throne, for the whole show, and turns in what I think is his best performance so far, by far- which is really far. He's a full-blown comedic genius, and still seems to have been able to go even further under the direction of Jared Hess.But the real satisfaction ends up coming from Hess knowing to place Michael Angarano right up front to show everyone what he can do. Clement is no surprise, when his greatness comes through- that's just normal. But to watch Angarano hang ten on his own terms, through his own scenes, was magnificent.I caught Michael Angarano in several films, starting with Seabiscuit. But it was in the family favorite "Sky High" that I noticed how well he was starting to do subtle comedy as a farce's underdog, a'la Ben Stiller. Apparently Hess noticed him long before that, and was able to capitalize on Angarano's rising talent, to have it perfectly coincide with Gentlemen Broncos. He builds up the pain in Angarano's character so smoothly and steadily, that when he finally explodes it's about as pressured as Travis the Taxi Driver. Except replace the mohawk with a woman's clownsuit dress and the gun with a bean pillow in the shape of a blonde, mustached tranny. And throughout the wind-up, Michael Angarano plays everything to a tee, walking brow-first above bloodshot eyes, seeming to be struggling to keep down his own intestines at the sight of the limitless tragedies that are happening to him throughout the bulk of the film. He's so likable and well-paced that you just can't believe it either, and can't imagine anything getting any better for him- until he goes off in a blaze of glory.Now I realize that all of these descriptors may sound like Hess may have sacrificed the inspired randomness of Napoleon Dynamite in order to make a more structured film. But let me console you in saying that, somehow, surrounding this Coen-worthy plot is so much perfect silliness that most people won't even see all of the true plot steps until they come together for a perfect showdown and a winning finale. In fact, the movie is so wild that some will mistake it for trying relying on sophomoric humor, which it sells fresh and hot throughout (when the majority is more intelligent situational and quotable line humor, with which Hess is a born natural). But analyze it honestly, and you'll see that the emotion-based story is top rate in it's rawness and simplicity, like all the best films.In short, Gentlemen Broncos is just like it's name- a sophisticated, well-dressed animal that kicks naysayers repeatedly in several places. I wish I had the connections to be able to see it again right now. Thank you comedy Gods, for giving us Jared Hess.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: You took my 'nads!, 14 November 2009 Author: Sanpaco13 from Sandy, UT, United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
What a great movie. Don't expect anything too special in ways of cinematography or complex deep meaning in the plot. Expect really stupid humor and lots of gonad and poop jokes. That is what is so great about it! A movie that can actually show reality just like it is. A bunch of really awkward people behaving awkwardly, showing over the top quirks, and pretending to be someone they're not because who they are is just too depressing. Michael Angarano stars as Benjamin, a kid from a small town in Utah who is an aspiring Science Fiction author. He has written a novella based on his father and, well, yeast. And flying cyborg deer with lasers and missiles. He attends a scifi aspiring author's convention where he meets his one of his heroes. Jemaine Clemens does an awesome job as the self centered, extremely spacey science fiction writer Ronald Chevalier. On the trip he also meets some new friends. One a girl who quickly becomes infatuated with Benjamin and her friend who is a big time producer in his own garage studio. Intertwined into this story are live action scenes from Benjamin's prize novella "Yeast Lords" starring Sam Rockwell as Bronco, who's gonads have been stolen from him for some reason I still don't quite understand. I won't give away much more of the movie. I'll just give you a list of a few of my favorite scenes.1) The hand massage on the bus (NOBODY! needs that much lotion). 2) Chevalier giving his lecture on how to make better character names (Broncanus) 3) Chevalier revealing the never before seen 47 alternate book cover art from his original series "The Cyborg Harpies", especially the mammary cannons shooting laser rain 4) Chevalier revealing the never before heard lyrics to the Harpie Queen's lullaby 5) Movie trailer of the love story between Benjamin and the crazy girl (Fatal Attraction anyone?) 6) The vomit kiss... need I say more? 7) Benjamin's new guardian angel arrives with the pooping snake. 8) Ben's mother trying to cram his popcorn car through the jail bars. 9) The alternate ending (Chavalier's version) of Brutus and Balzaak. 10) The final battle scene of Yeast Lords!Finally, I saved this one for last because it is my favorite part of the movie, Ben fights back. Taking out the guy with the poop needle and punching Chevalier with the miniature souvenir pillow. It was nice to see the poor kid finally stand up for himself and those people important to him. Needless to say, I highly recommend this film to anyone in the mood for a good lighthearted comedy with a fun story and likable characters. By the way, I'll go ahead and throw this in because I was reminded of it by Lonnie's movies. There really are people out there that make movies that bad. Go here: https://utahwolfproductions.com. I personally recommend starting out with "She Hulk". As for Gentleman Broncos, I give a 10 out of 10.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: delightfully retarded comedy for all to enjoy, 11 November 2009 Author: majablaze from United States
To potential viewers,I don't know how people may not see the beauty and wonder of "Gentlemen Broncos". The way I see it: don't think too much, sit back and relax in order to enjoy an eccentric journey of absurdity, wonderful humor, great music, fantastic acting and above all breath taking art direction. This film is so bad it's beyond fantastic! One can tell that people who worked on it had a lot of good times with it. Also, being a graphic designer I fully appreciated simple yet awesome film titles. Who was behind them? Maja
1 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Like being trapped in a septic tank that is on fire, 17 November 2009 Author: alienworlds from Montreal Quebec Canada
I would venture a guess and say that someone doesn't like Ted Nugent, Tori Amos, or Edgar Froese, as the characters in this little cinematic romp are like spoofs of some erstwhile rock music personalities. A good spoof or not is a good question, as the young writer depicted in this film has no talent, and his ideas are stolen by an older writer that also has no talent. So its a battle of the no talents kind of a spoof complete with barf soaked kisses and a ludicrous gay Mexican American film maker also with no talent and his peppy female sidekick who -you guessed it-has absolutely no talent whatsoever. Why did they make this movie? Perhaps it was the prospect of saying things like 'attack stags incoming' or some other such so stupid it is funny kind of stuff. I think this film is basically an ass hat that insults youth in America by depicting them as incapable of writing anything but 50th rate pulp trash. I think there are good young writers out there in the small towns and cities scattered all across North America. Too bad this is the kind of crap Hollywood makes for them to see at the cinema. The only uplifting moment in this film is when the song 'Carry On Wayward Son' by rock band Kansas plays across the end credits.
9 out of 28 people found the following review useful: No, no, no., 29 October 2009 Author: maura-marie from United States
There's a prophetic line hidden in Jared Hess's new film, "Gentleman Broncos," which opens in limited release this Friday:"People hated your movie," says a main character, "some of them walked out."I had the painful experience of watching Gentleman Broncos at a DC screening on Tuesday. Gentleman Broncos is a 90 minute march of superficial characters, and endless, sophomoric jokes that don't further the plot or serve any purpose. There is very little of merit in this film to hold on to. Much (way, way, too much) of the film is spent in the god-awful story-within-a-story fantasy world of "Yeast Lords," which is a barrage of sophomoric jokes and gross-out humor. Attempting the whole, "it's so bad it's funny!" thing-- but it's so over the top and charmless that it wears quickly and doesn't pull of the "funny" part. Snakes pooping on people and plots based on gonads being stolen is not an example of satirical comedic genius. It's the work of a lazy writer crossing their fingers, hoping someone might laugh. I'll give this movie one star, because it only had one: Jemaine Clement was undoubedly the shining light of this film. Clement is undyingly charismatic on screen, and turns even this weak script into something worth listening to. However, with the serious and underlying issues that riddled the rest of this film, there's no way Jemaine Clement could have saved the show on his own- he's just what kept me from leaving the theater. The commenter below me compares this film to Wes Anderson, Scorsese, and the Coen Bros-- they must be a close personal friend of Jared Hess, or a PR agent for Fox Searchlight, or maybe we saw different movies. The film that I saw had very little in it to hold on to. As a whole, Gentleman Broncos is charmless and unsatisfying. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
30 out of 113 people found the following review useful: dog-doo, 25 September 2009 Author: mail-1045 from United States
I just saw this last night, and I'd say you were being kind. The jokes, such as they were, had nothing to do with the film or the story. They could have been lifted from this movie and dropped into any other, it didn't matter. But that doesn't matter because the jokes were slow, contrived eyesores worthy of Telemundo circa 1980.Jared Hess seems to have played out all of his ideas: 1: Funny-looking people are funny 2: Ugly people are funnier 3: Let's make fun of people's dreams and aspirations 4: Let's add some phony morality so we don't come off mean.\Ugh.
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